of mice and men

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Transcript of of mice and men

OF MICE AND MEN By John Steinbeck In the story of mice and men there are a lot of characters and each character has its own personality. they each have a problem that they complain from. There is about 8 important characters in the book and they are Lennie, George, curly's wife, slim, Characters Dopey, slow, really big and strongLikes to pat miceCauses trouble for georgeForgetfulInnocent Child likeReally good at making george feel guiltyImmature Lennie Mature, smart, short, skinnyFed up with LenniePersistent and confident in dreamDifferent from other menCares about LennieLoyalCould have a normal life without Lennie George Curly He is one of the workersloyalhe is respected by othersEveryone looked up to himhe has all of the responsibility he dosen't tell the workers what to do Slim Some themes of mice and men are family, respect, mental illness, poverty/wealth, trust, racism and etc. Theme George and Lennie are like family"funny how you and him string along together (slim)everyone in the ranch work together in the ranchthey all love each other like a family Family Candy has respect for his dogno one has respect fro curly because he respects no onehis wife is not respected Carlson lets slim leave the room first because he respects him a lot. Respect The owners sonlightweight boxerpicks fights with big guyslittle man syndromevasline glove PLOT Of mice and men George and Lennie worked in weed but they ran out of weed because everyone thought that Lennie wanted to attack a girl but Lennie has a childlike mind and he likes to touch everything he likes. He saw a girl wearing a red dress, he liked it and had a feel of it but then he wouldn't let go of the girl because the dress felt so good. The girl started yelling and screaming. George took Lennie and they started running away from the men that were chasing them. They quickly went and hid in the river under some grass and luckily no one was able to find them. Context Was no treatmentgave them sedativesshock tharepy Mental illness monoply first saledColumbia- peru warchaeo warspanish civil warthe dust bowlthe great depressionnuclear fission Major events Euthanasia killing of an ill human suffering a painful illnessthings included in Euthanising a human: gas chambers, lethal injection, decision, suicide, murder for a reason, by choice or forced, depending on health, mental health, culture or race. The great depression 1929-1932 was a time of extreme hardship for people in audtralia as market crash in prices.Caused by spemding money on warA job was difficult to come by Great depression Best layed plans of mice and men often go astrayAstray- away from the right path or course or of actionIf your bid or small everyone's plans falls apart. no matter what they will fall apart or not go the right way! Mice and men treated less favourably because of their race natinality, religon and etc.in 1966 it all changedtheir human rights were abused e.g. education, shelter, health, care and public services Racism Lennie will do anything you tell himHe has to be controlledHe doesn't know his strengthpeople treat him badly because he is dumb and dopey. Mental illness George want his own ranch so he can be wealthyThe boss has all of the wealthWealthy people have all the powerPoor people work like slaves such as candy Poverty/Wealth George trusts slim with his past."there was a gravity in his manner" (slim)Lennie trusts George with everything even if George told him to throw his self in the river Trust treated like slavesderogatory words used against themstable buck - african American Racism the boss is seriouse with everything"a nice feller"he wears high heeled boots and spurs to show taht he is not a worker shows his own loneliness, and longing for friendship The boss On their way George finds that Lennie, who loves petting soft things but often accidentally kills them, has been carrying and stroking a dead mouse. George angrily throws it away, fearing that Lennie might catch a disease from the dead animal. George complains loudly that his life would be easier without having to care for Lennie. He and Lennie share a dream of buying their own piece of land, farming it, and, much to Lennie’s delight, keeping rabbits. George ends the night by treating Lennie to the story he often tells him about what life will be like in such a beautiful place. The next day, they went to a nearby ranch. George, fearing how the boss will react to Lennie,he told lennie to not say a word and that he’ll do all the talking. He lies, explaining that they travel together because they are cousins and that a horse kicked Lennie in the head when he was a child. They are hired. They meet Candy, an old “swamper,”with a missing hand and an ancient dog, and Curley, the boss’s son. Once George and Lennie are alone in the bunkhouse, Curly’s wife appears and flirts with them. Lennie thinks she is “purty,” but George, sensing the trouble that could come from tangling with this woman and her husband, he warned Lennie to stay away from her. Soon, the workers return from the fields for lunch, and George and Lennie meet Slim, the skilled mule driver who wields great authority on the ranch. Slim comments on the great friendship like that between George and Lennie. Carlson, another worker, suggests that since Slim’s dog has just given birth, they should offer a puppy to Candy and shoot Candy’s old dog. Slim goes to the barn to do some work, and Curley, who is maniacally searching for his wife, heads to the barn to accost Slim. Candy overhears George and Lennie discussing their plans to buy land, and offers his life’s savings if they will let him live there too. The three make a pact to let no one else know of their plan. Slim returns to the bunkhouse, berating Curley for his suspicions. Curley, searching for an easy target for his anger, finds Lennie and picks a fight with him. Lennie crushes Curley’s hand in the altercation. Slim warns Curley that if he tries to get George and Lennie fired, he will be the laughingstock of the farm. The next night, most of the men go to the local brothel. Lennie is left with Crooks, the lonely, black stable-hand, and Candy. Curley’s wife flirts with them, refusing to leave until the other men come home. She notices the cuts on Lennie’s face and suspects that he, and not a piece of machinery as Curley claimed, is responsible for hurting her husband. This thought amuses her. The next day, Lennie accidentally kills his puppy in the barn. Curley’s wife enters and consoles him. She admits that life with Curley is a disappointment, and wishes that she had followed her dream of becoming a movie star. Lennie tells her that he loves petting soft things, and she offers to let him feel her hair. When he grabs too tightly, she cries out. In his attempt to silence her, he accidentally breaks her neck and kills her. Lennie flees back to a pool of the Salinas River that George had designated as a meeting place should either of them get into trouble. As the men back at the ranch discover what has happened and gather together a lynch party, George joins Lennie. Much to Lennie’s surprise, George is not mad at him for doing “a bad thing.” George begins to tell Lennie the story of the farm they will have together. As he describes the rabbits that Lennie will tend, the sound of the approaching lynch party grows louder. George shoots his friend in the back of the head. When the other men arrive, George lets them believe that Lennie had the gun, and George wrestled it away from him and shot him. Only Slim understands what has really happened, that George has killed his friend out of mercy. Slim consolingly leads him away, and the other men, completely puzzled, watch them leave. Symbols Symbolism- a symbol carries multiple meanings other than its literal one. e.g. Roseliteral: flowersymbol: loveApart from the symbolism in the title, we should note the symbolic function of the killing of Candy's old dog. At various points in the novel shooting is mentioned as a way out of trouble (as when George says he would shoot himself if he were related to Lennie). The killing of the dog parallels the shooting of Lennie: both are depicted as merciful, in both cases the shot is in the same place (base of the skull) and Slim approves both killings. Mouse- Freindship with lennie -Company. -Death at Lennies hands.Lennie-What it means to be a childRabbits-Security/something to keep him going. -White-purityAunt Clara-Mother hood Curley's wife-Opposite -Good womenWater-Washing troubles awayCandy's dog-What would happen to lennie. -If you can't work and you are old you need to be put down. -Throwing the mouse away Of mice and men symbols Settings -Weed-Salinas river-Ranch-Barn-Crook's room John Steinbeck Author John Steinbeck (1902-1968), born in Salinas, California. John Steinbeck was an American writer. He wrote the Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939 and the novel Of Mice and Men, published in 1937. In all, he wrote twenty-five books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and several collections of short stories.In 1962 Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature.Steinbeck grew up in the Salinas Valley region of California, a culturally diverse place. Steinbeck moved briefly to New York City, but soon returned home to California to begin his career as a writer. In 1936, Steinbeck took a journalistic assignment for the San Francisco News, investigating the migrant working situation in California. The stories and circumstances he discovered are reflected in Of Mice and Men. The novel has two main characters, George and Lennie, embody the American struggle to survive the Depression, but the novel is timeless because it captures the personal isolation and suffering present in the land of opportunity. He wrote the novel of mice and men because he worked in a farm too and he experienced the great depression. Lennie has a man's body, but a child's outlook: he gains pleasure from “pettin' ” soft things, even dead mice, and loves puppies and rabbits. He is dependent, emotionally, on George, who organizes his life and tells him about their future. Lennie can be easily controlled by firm but calm instructions, as Slim finds out. But panic in others makes Lennie panic.he is a big man and cannot control his strength or actions. Candy Candy is an old man, reduced to cleaning the bunkhouse after losing his hand in an accident at work. Candy is excluded from the social life of the ranch-hands, by his age, his disability and demeaning job, and by his own choice (“I ain't got the poop any more”, he says when the others go into town on Saturday night). His lack of status appears when he is powerless to save his old dog from being shot. He bitterly (and unfairly) reproaches Curley's wife for the loss of his dream. TrustingLikes gossipNiceGot their backs Curly's wife Curley's wife is the most pathetic of the outsiders: unlike the others, even Lennie, she seems not to understand her limitations - or she refuses to admit them. She still dreams of what might have been, seeing herself as a potential film-star. But she has no acting talent, she never stays inside her house, she flirts with the ranch-hands. They are uneasy about this, as they think her to be seriously promiscuous, and are fearful of Curley's reaction. Her inappropriate dress on the ranch and her coquettish manner brand her as a “tart”. She is, perhaps, the most pathetic of all the characters. Curley, her husband, is a rather two-dimensional villain. Conscious of his own failings, he tries to earn respect by picking fights, but is vain, boastful and aggressive. He suspects everyone of laughing at him. His wife's behaviour ensures that they do laugh, even Candy. He is “the prince of the ranch” and he is regarded as an authority. For most of the novel he is a detached figure who observes Lennie's and George's relationship. At one point he is called to make a judgement, when he decides that Candy's dog should be shot. By listening to George in the ranch house, Slim allows him to reveal a great deal about his relations with Lennie, and to describe incidents from their past. Loneliness George and Lennie are not the only characters who struggle against loneliness. The theme of loneliness is mostly shown in Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife. They all fight against their isolation in whatever way they can. Until its death, Candy's dog stopped Candy from being alone in the world. After its death, Candy struggles against loneliness by sharing in George and Lennie's dream. Curley's wife is also lonely; she is the only female on the ranch, and her husband doesn't let anyone talk with her. She gets rid of her loneliness by flirting with the ranch hands. Crooks is isolated because of his skin color. As the only black man on the ranch, he is not allowed into the bunkhouse with the others, and he does not associate with them. He combats his loneliness with books and his work. George is described as physically small with very sharp features, an opposite to Lennie Small. George's personality often reflects both anger and understanding. Of the two men, he is the one who thinks things through and considers how their goals can be reached.While George can be very rational and thoughtful, he also gets frustrated and angry with Lennie. THE END By: Asra Alrobaie